The Only Witness
by clau-hogwarts-writer
Summary: How do you make Harry care again? How can you make him see you're there? How will Ginny manage to make him faithful again? From where she sees it, that's the only way that maybe, just maybe, they can get through this.


**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately, I do not own any of the characters (except for Abigail, you'll get to know her.) It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling!

Special thanks tothe greatest beta-readers in the universe: **Lillian **and** -Karmatic-**

_I really hope you like this H/G (eventually)fanfiction... and don't forget to review!_

* * *

**The Only Witness**

_Chapter 1: "Overloaded"_

"How do you want us to do it?" Adam, the Hufflepuff prefect, asked.

"Just walk through the corridors every ten minutes." Harry Potter explained in a rather careless way.

He nodded at him and sat back down with the rest of the prefects.

"Do you have any more questions?" Abigail Bray inquired, raising her dark brown and bushy eyebrows.

Silence.

"Good. You may go now, remember to report any situation." She reminded as the three prefects, including Adam, walked across and out the room.

Harry sighed loudly after smashing the door behind them and swiveled around back to the group.

"And they're gone," He said barely above whisper. He then cleared his throat and took one of the parchments lying in front of him.

"Let's see…" He began, his eyes traveling from a word to the next.

"'_Check that the Great Hall decoration has been completed before the students arrive.' _… This one is for you, Slytherin prefect." He exclaimed, pointing sharply towards a black haired, slender, perfectly dressed boy sitting in the corner, staring at everyone with tremendous despair.

The boy glared at him and stood up.

"It's David," He said, coldly.

"Right…" Harry said frowning. "Did you hear what I just said? Good. Learn this; it's your first du-"

"Harry," Abigail interrupted. "That's a Head duty."

Harry turned to her and scowled.

She just raised her eyebrows again and focused her attention to David.

"Go and help patrol, please."

David nodded and strode across the room. He glared at Harry and disappeared, smashing hardly the door behind him.

"Ok then… a prefect duty." Harry muttered and revised the list once more.

"'_Coordinate the food rails.' _…ehrm, you!" He said to a blonde, tiny girl sitting in front of him.

The girl stood up immediately and started walking in direction of the door.

Abigail stopped her.

"Head Duty." She said slowly, remarking cautiously each word.

Harry clenched his teeth harshly. His eyes glared fiercely at her as he took another parchment from the table.

The girl showed a disappointed face and sat back down.

"'_Check that everyone leaves the train.' _" He began, trying his best to sound normal and steady. " You can do this, Gryffindo-"

"Head Duty."

He closed his eyes tightly and inhaled as deep as he could, patience was abandoning him.

She smirked.

"I revised that list earlier," She told him. "There aren't any more prefect duties at the moment! You can go to your respective compartments now, but remember that you're responsible for your house!"

Every prefect left nodded at her. She went to the wooden door and opened it for them. Instantly, the room started emptying itself, leaving Abigail and Harry to themselves.

She cautiously closed the door behind the last one and turned around to Harry.

"You're not as nice as I thought." She said unhappily.

"You should've told me that before letting me make a fool of myself." He replied.

"Oh, come on! Harry Potter doesn't care if he's making a fool of himself or not!"

"Says who?"

"Everyone… your actions." She said, partially chuckling.

Harry rolled his eyes away and sighed softly.

"So, let me get something straight… all these duties are for us?"

"Exactly, these are the tasks –or duties, however you'd like to call them- of the next two weeks." She explained taking the three parchments in her hands.

Harry's eyes widened while his mind processed the information it had just received. He could immediately feel a heavy thud taking away all of his eager feeling about the Head Boy position.

"Welcome back."

* * *

The food plates were half empty, the sounds of random talks choked the room, and the feeling of eagerness filled the air.

Everything was superficially in order. Students talking with each other, occasional furtive glances from house to house, and the Hogwarts ghosts flying around, greeting the old, familiar students and scaring the first years.

The immense door was pushed open and Harry appeared behind it; he looked annoyed and tired, his hair was helplessly messy, and his steps were dwarfed.

He walked over to the Gryffindor table, the one he proudly belonged to, and sat down next to his all time friends; Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Ginny.

"Greetings, Harry!" Neville said once he plopped down next to him.

Harry gestured with his eyes and took and apple from the golden bowl positioned right in front of him.

"Yes, you got that just right. And, remember, after that you can go through the Potions list. No, don't worry, I won't need it, I have a copy already." Hermione said excitedly to Ginny while handing her a medium sized pile of assorted parchments. "Oh! And don't forget you must start reading the books… that's if you want to finish."

"Thanks!" was Ginny's reply. She took the parchments and placed them besides her bag.

"What is _that?_" Harry said disgustedly, pointing.

"Guides and notes for the NEWTs." Hermione said immediately, her eyes glittering slightly.

Ron's eyes blurted out at this and his face raised color from pink to soft red.

"Hermione! You're turning my sister into a –"

"A what, Ron?" Ginny interjected. "Just because I'm your sister doesn't mean that I have to do everything like you do! Besides… this way I can maybe even get an (a) scholarship or something."

Ron narrowed his eyes and turned his attention back to the chicken.

"Hello, Harry. " Ginny said.

"Hey." Harry answered absently.

"How was your first day as Head Boy?" Hermione asked.

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Do you _really _want to know?"

"Yes."

"Ok, it was _not _what I thought it would be, there's about fifty things we have to do in the next two weeks, and I have Abigail Bray as partner."

Ginny wrinkled her nose at the sound of that name.

"_Exactly!" _Harry exclaimed.

"Very well, then, you shouldn't have taken it!" Hermione said looking slightly picked.

Harry snorted.

"And how was your summer, mate?" Ron asked, sputtering small fragments of chicken. "I mean, it's your first summer –since second year- that you spend every single day with those muggles!"

"Actually I've been practicing with Lupin and Tonks the last two weeks."

Ron frowned.

"I have a question." He said after swallowing, " Why in the name of Merlin are you here this year if you know more than any of us do, even more than some of the teachers?"

Harry chuckled for the first time that day.

"You're exaggerating."

"You at least know twice as much as Hermione does. By the way, how is the meetings' schedule going to be arranged?" Neville said, trying to ignore Hermione's threatening glances.

"Mmh… what meetings?" Harry said unsteadily.

"DA!" Ginny shouted, alarmed.

Harry hesitated for a second, then gave a light jump.

"Oh, right! The meetings! Um," He scratched his head nervously, looking at her, "They are canceled."

There was a moment of awkward silence among them.

"Canceled? What are you talking about, you can't _cancel _them!" Ginny screamed, her cheeks were starting to grab a reddish tone.

"Well, I'm sorry, Ginny, I have no time!" He exclaimed in defense.

"Make some! You can't quit on us now, we have to keep practicing."

"Time can't be made out of nothing, besides; you can practice on your own!"

Ginny's hands were now wrapped in hard fists, and she forcefully smashed them against the table.

"You have to teach us what you learned for Merli-"

"Whoa, hang in there. I _have_?... Since when do I have the _obligation _to teach you what I know? From where I stand, this was optional."

Ginny stared at him unbelievingly; she could sense her body temperature rising, her blood boiling, and her head about to explode.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Useless.

"Fine! If you want to do it, that's perfect, we'll all just die in the hands of the Death Eaters, or _if we're lucky _in the hands of Voldemort himself." She said coldly, piercing her sky blue eyes into his.

She stood up quickly, took the parchments along with her bag, and strode out of the Great Hall.

"What's her problem?" He thought as his eyes traced her pathway.

"Everyone's gone?" Abigail asked.

Harry took one last look around the Great Hall and nodded.

"Do we have to do this every day?" He said in an exhaustive way.

Abigail smirked.

"Fortunately, no. Just three more days and we're off this... Dumbledore says it's for the first year's safety."

Harry rolled his eyes and began walking towards the door.

"Ready to see the Head Room?" She questioned with an obvious tone of excitement.

Harry responded with his silence, as they made their way across the empty hallways.

"Are you excited about this? You know, being our last year and having these badges?" She said after several minutes of choking silence.

Harry made a disapproving expression and said loudly.

"Nope! Not anymore."

"You should be, it's of great pride to be wearing this around" She started, looking down at her brand new Head Girl badge.

"Wear your badge with pride and let me wear mine however I like, please."

She stared at him thoughtfully for one second and then turned her immense gray eyes back to the walls of the hallway.

"Listen, Harry, there's an entire year ahead of us, in which we must see our faces every day. It's obvious you don't like me, at all... but I-"

"Abby, I'm way too tired to head any lecture of _any _kind, so please, let it go." He bitterly hissed.

"Ok, if that's how you want it..."

She gave one last look at him and hurried her steps down the hall.

_"Finally! She's gone... now maybe I can truly have some time for my-"_

"Potter?" A loud, imposing, female voice called from behind.

Unwillingly, he swiveled around and noticed professor McGonnagal walking towards him.

"Yes?" He exclaimed in a elaborated, fake, polite tone.

"Dumbledore requires your presence immediately, Mr. Potter, is urgent." She said solemnly.

He clenched his teeth tightly.

"And what may that be, I wonder." He muttered inaudibly.

"Pardon me?"

"Nothing, professor... where is he?"

"In his office."

* * *

"Come in, please." Dumbledore's old voice called.

The doorknob twisted around slowly. Next, the door opened with a soft screech and Harry stepped inside.

"Oh, hello, Harry, thank you for coming. Please, sit." He said gesturing.

"No, thanks." Harry said back.

"Very well then..." Dumbledore whispered, sitting back down on his chair. "I want to discuss with you some issues, Harry, and I need you to do exactly as agreed tonight, can you do that?"

Harry nodded.

"What things?"

Dumbledore sighed lightly, not truly knowing from where to begin.

"Did Remus mention anything about an attack to you?"

Harry frowned; he had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

"No... At least nothing that I can remember."

"Ok, I need you to be extremely cautious with the information I'm about to give you, you must not spread the word out, please. Up till now, there have been four death eater attacks, two of them not very far from Hogwarts. Unfortunately, these attacks have even reached several muggles, killing them instantly. Naturally, the muggle newspapers have already begun to comment about it, marking the events as _supernatural_ disaste-"

"Has any of us died... from the Order?" Harry asked exasperatedly.

"No, Harry, fortunately."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

"I need you to be prepared for what may come."

"Don't leave it like that! Tell me what I should be expecting!" Harry shouted, his veins rushing threads of burning blood.

Dumbledore took a deep breath.

"Expect... the only thing any of us can expect now is the worst." He said, his voice revealing a hint of unsteadiness.

Harry looked away to the bookshelves for two reasons. One, Dumbledore's gaze was a little too penetrating for his taste, and two, he knew that answer was coming, and he knew that it was going to hit him hard. He suddenly felt highly afraid.

"And what do you want me to do?" He spoke after a minute or two, with a subtle knot on his throat.

Dumbledore was still looking at him.

"I think you know what I need you to do."

"I don't have time for the meetings." He stated clearly and coldly. "I just can't do that."

"I know you can do them, Harry, you only have to divide you activities."

"Time... again. So, I have to divide my time between classes, homeworks, Quidditch, Head Boy duties, _and _DA meetings?"

Dumbledore nodded delicately.

"Anything else?" He said sarcastically.

"Actually, yes. I need you to come once a week for Occlumency."

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"I won't do them."

"Harry, you have to."

"Why!"

"Because it is our only chance to delay the attacks..."

"Attacks? But were inside the castle!"

Dumbledore's gaze suddenly lost its spark, he looked away.

"Were inside Hogwarts, yes, and now they can all be."

* * *

Hope you liked it... please review. 

Ellen.


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